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Comment by TaylorAlexander | Hacker News Reader

I know this is not a concept people are used to, but I’m really in to the idea of open source appliances. In that case there’d be one centralized (and forkable) project where skilled engineers from around the world could design a suitable machine. I’d love to see companies pop up to manufacture those designs the same way 3D printer companies have done.

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Open source firmware works great for several devices that I use daily.

My router- I'm using an Asus NT-16[1] with EasyTomato for several years, and it's working flawlessly. I know others are using Pfsense also, which seems to work great for geeks.

I have an old iPod 5.5 gen running rockbox, an open source firmware.

I also use OpenVix[2] firmware, flashed onto a set-top box capable of DVB-T2, DVB-S and more (this model[3]) which also works great. The interface is similar to Sky commercial STBs, and there are ways to reorder and group TV stations with external editors. Therefore, its UI is on a par with commercial providers, and it's extensibility and flexibility is way ahead.

My experience with open source firmware is great, it's stable, secure, you potentially avoid unnecessary e-waste, and you're not locked into a manufacturer that might discontinue support for the device, so it would be very exciting to see this extended to white-goods appliances also.

[1] https://www.asus.com/Networking/RTN16/

[2] https://www.openvix.co.uk/

[3] http://vuplus.com/sub/sub0113.php

How does liability work for open source appliances? That’s the first thing that comes to mind when doing business in the US, especially with a product that can cause carbon monoxide poisoning or fires.

You'll probably have a tough time even installing it legally under many building codes.

I don’t see why an open source design manufactured by a competent manufacturer would be any different from a proprietary design. It would need to pass certifications and the regulator may require a version freeze, but it seems like it could be done.

There’s also countries all over the world who don’t have these regulations, and would appreciate good quality plans for useful appliances.

IANAL. I imagine a manufacturer would assume liability for an appliance based on an open source design, assuming the design uses a typical open source license that disclaims liability. I'm not aware of a reason why an open source design for a physical product would be different from open source code in this respect. If the manufacturer paid to get the designs reviewed by an engineering firm, maybe they could pass the liability off to the firm for a design defect, depending on their contract?

A lawyer told me once that open source code used in a nuclear project could maintain liability for the original author, but I can't find any evidence to support that. The Paris Convention seems to place strict liability on the nuclear operator with no mention of such an exception.

That’s a great idea. If you had enough money you could hire engineers to make version 1 and kick it off. Or maybe you could recruit some engineers?

Well I try to encourage bored engineers to work on open source hardware projects. Finding a funding stream is difficult but finding engineers who want to improve their skills and contribute to society is pretty doable. I spend half of my working time on unpaid open source work that is self directed and primarily chosen based on what is fun and enriching. I have a YouTube channel where I am slowly trying to get the message out, though it’s hard to put all my theory in to words and shoot videos for it. I seem to prefer doing engineering over writing scripts, though writing scripts has its place.

That’s great! What kind of hardware projects?

Well recently I designed a nice 3D printable pair of headphones that I will be publishing in the next month or two. For $50 they sound as good as the $200 headphones my roommates have (halfway decent drivers make the difference).

My big open source work has to do with 3D printed robotics and computer vision. I designed this robot which is CC0 open source. I am using it for computer vision research:

https://reboot.love/t/new-cameras-on-rover/

https://imgur.com/gallery/GqXD2Zj

Wow I love that robot! I’ve actually been wanting to get into robotics and computer vision myself. Drop me an email if you want to chat robots sometime.

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